arrived at, and the matter was laid over for consultation. At the January meeting in 1870, James I. Lyndes and Rev. N. C. Chapin were re-elected as President of the Board and School Superintendent, respectively, and Fred Tillman qualified as member of the board to succeed Mons Anderson. Proposals were again invited for the building of the Second Ward Schoolhouse, and the contract was finally made in February, with Leyelke, Kohlhaus & Co., for the erection of a brick school building, on the corner of King and Fourth streets, for $12,981.75. Emil Hauser was employed as teacher of German in the Second Ward School in place of Mr. Frederick.

In the year 1871, there were in all seventeen teachers employed in the different city schools. December 5, 1870, the architect superintending the construction of the Second Ward School Building, certified to its completion according to the plans and specifications. It was decided to open a high school in this building, to begin in January, 1871, and M. F. Varney was appointed Principal of it, with Jacob Bickler as teacher of the classical and modern languages, and in place of Mr. Varney, J. L. Wallace was appointed Principal of the Third Ward. School. At the annual meeting in January, 1871, James I. Lyndes and Rev. N. C. Chapin were elected again as President and Superintendent respectively.

North La Crosse having become a part of the city, known as the Fifth Ward, J. B. Richards took his seat as a member of the Board of Education from that ward, April 13, and reported the schools there as organized in three departments, with four teachers. These teachers were continued by the board, subject to their rules, etc., and a committee was appointed to ascertain what new school buildings were necessary in that ward, who subsequently advised the purchase of Lots 2 and 3, in Block 29, and a plan was adopted for a primary school building, and a contract made with M. A. Hubbard for the erection of the building for $986. July 3, 1871, Mr. Chapin tendered his resignation as Superintendent of Schools, and Judge Lyndes was elected to succeed him but declined, when M. F. Varney was unanimously chosen.

In September, a committee of architects and carpenters were appointed to examine the Third Ward School Building as to the safety of the same, and the expediency of making extensive repairs. The committee reported the building as safe, and not expedient to make the repairs. Soon after this, in December, an architect was directed to devise a plan for a new school building in this ward, sufficiently large to accommodate five hundred pupils, and plans were drawn, proposals invited and the contract made with L. Drake for the erection of the same, arrangements having been made for the accommodation of the scholars during the spring term in the old Turner's Hall, in order that the old Third Ward building might be torn down.

The school opened in September with about the same corps of teachers, J. J. Fruit having been elected as Principal of the Fifth Ward. In January, 1872, James I. Lyndes was again elected as President of the Board of Education, and M. F. Varney as Superintendent of Schools. In June it was decided to add another room to the new primary school building in the Fifth Ward, and also an addition, 16x30, one story high, to the main schoolhouse in the same ward, at a cost of about $1,000. All the teachers with two exceptions, and three additional teachers were engaged for the next school year.

The record of the school proceedings from July, 1871, to January, 1873, is very incomplete, and lacking in many particulars, therefore we are not enbled to obtain a complete statement relative to the proceedings during this time. The Third Ward School Building was completed and accepted by the board October 19, 1872, but the schools did not open in this building until December 23.

In December, 1872, the Board of Education was changed by the Common Council by the election of three new members, consisting of A. Steinlein, from the Second Ward; P. S. Elwell, from the Fourth Ward, and Dr. W. A. Anderson from the city at large; and at their regular meeting in January, Dr. Anderson was elected President of the Board, and J. W. Weston, Superintendent of the Schools, at a salary of $600 per year. About the middle of January, a committee, consisting of P. S. Elwell, A. Steinlein and J. W. Weston, were appointed to prepare rules and regulations for the government of the schools, which were subsequently adopted by the board

February 3, 1873. This may be said to have been the instigation of a reform in the schools of the city, which has each year gradually increased, until at present the La Crosse City Schools have attained to that advancement and superiority that has been equaled by very few other cities in the State. The number of teachers employed in the schools, at this time, according to the Superintendent's report, was thirty-three, at an aggregate monthly salary of $1,705.

Dr.

In the spring of this year, a large number of shade trees were planted around each of the ward school buildings, and the Third Ward School grounds were graded, and a new fence built around it at an expense of $353. At the meeting of the board in June, twenty-one of the thirty-three were re-elected, but four of this number did not wish to serve again. A regular examination of the teachers was provided for by the board, under the direction of the Superintendent, and two members of the board, together with two persons from the city at large. Fox was elected as teacher of German, and a resolution adopted that the study of the German language should be taught only in the grammar schools and high school. Prof. B. M. Reynolds was elected Principal of the High School, at a salary of $1,800 per year, with Messrs. F. A. Dwight and L. A. Bingham as assistants. The schools opened in September with a corps of twenty-eight teachers, and a regular course of study was adopted and printed for the ward schools. Early in September, the four lots on the corner of Cass and Eleventh streets, belonging to the Academy Association, and being for sale, the board, appreciating the difficulty of obtaining a suitable location for an additional school building in the Fourth Ward, authorized Commissioner Crosby to purchase these lots for $3,125, and also submitted a request to the Common Council to authorize the board to issue an order for $2,625 to pay for the same, the board having unex pended in the treasury $500 for a school site. The action of the board was ratified by the Common Council; but a week later, a strong effort was made to reconsider said action, which failed, however, by one vote. As this was not the unanimous indorsement desired by the board, they withdrew their proposition, and sold the lots to J. H. McCulloch, who now occupies a part of them with his residence.

About this time, a large number of maps, reference books and apparatus was added to the supplies of the schools, and three large bells were purchased and placed in the towers of the Second, Third and Fifth Wards, respectively. At the regular meeting in January, 1874, the same officers were re-elected. Messrs. Langdon and Grover having been elected as members of the board, took their seats as such. March 2, a resolution was adopted granting a half-holiday to the school whose per cent of tardiness should be the lowest for each preceding month, which, we believe, has continued in force since that time. Also a resolution expressing the desire of the board in selecting teachers to select from the graduates of the high school so far as practicable.

A committee, consisting of twenty-four ladies and sixteen gentlemen, were also appointed and requested, by special invitation of the board, to attend the public examinations of the dif ferent departments of the schools, and the Superintendent was instructed to make special efforts to induce citizens generally to attend those examinations. June 12, measures were adopted to secure sites and prepare plans for additional primary school buildings in the First and Third Wards, and the Common Council was requested to make an appropriation of $3,000 for that purpose. In accordance with this, the two lots on the corner of Eighth and Johnson streets, and one lot on the corner of Eleventh and Vine, were subsequently purchased, and a contract made with C. L. Halstead for the erection of two one-story, one-room buildings thereon, at a cost of $1,779.80. On the last day of school in June, a severe storm swept over the city, and among other damages blew in the north gable end of the Third Ward School Building, and the mass of bricks and mortar fell through the ceiling into the First Grammar room. There were sliding doors between the two grammar rooms at this time, and as the schools were about to close, by good fortune the scholars happened to be in the Second Grammar room, beyond the sliding doors, and the scholars as well as the city thereby escaped a serious calamity, as the immense weight of the debris broke the ceiling joists and crushed the larger portion of the desks in the room. After this there was such a feeling of disquietude on the part of the people, that the board employed G. P. Randall, an architect from Chicago, to investigate the cause of the

accident and suggest what measures should be adopted to render the buildings secure in the future. This was done, and the repairs were made in accordance with his suggestions, and no further apprehensions were entertained. In addition to the two new buildings, extensive repairs were made in the First Ward, $1,300 being expended on the building, a large furnace was placed in the Third Ward, and over $800 worth of new school desks were purchased.

Mr. F. M. Roese was elected teacher of German, and the schools opened again in September with a corps of thirty teachers.

In December, 1874, occurred the death of James Langdon, one of the members of the Board of Education.

At the annual meeting in January, Dr. Anderson was again elected as President of the board, and J. W. Weston Superintendent, at a salary of $800 per year.

January 4, R. D. Carroll, the Principal of the First Ward resigned his position, and C. W. Robey, of Winneconne, was engaged to fill his place at a salary of $90 per month. In the summer of 1875, a site was purchased for $600 adjoining the main school building in the Fifth Ward, and a contract made with Webster & Van Wie for the erection of a one-story school building at a cost of $850. During this year, the salaries of the principals of the ward schools were reduced from $120 to $110, and J. P. Bird was elected Principal of the Fifth Ward School, and Mr. Fruit transferred to the Third Ward. At the opening of the schools in September, according to the Superintendent's report, a force of thirty-one teachers was employed.

In October, 1875, occurred the death of Miss L. S. Adams, who for five years had been teacher in the First Intermediate Department of the Second Ward School.

At the annual meeting, January 17, 1876, Dr. Anderson and J. W. Weston were again elected President and Superintendent. A. S. Swarthout became a member of the board in place of Mr. Grover, and John Ulrich in place of Mons Anderson. April 19, it was decided to employ a special teacher of penmanship; a contract was therefore made with C. E. Rogers to teach in that branch for the balance of the school year, and the result proving satisfactory, he was continued another year. At the close of the school year, J. J. Fruit resigned the Principalship of the Third Ward School, and J. P. Bird transferred from the Fifth Ward to take his place; and G. J. Schellenger elected Principal of the Fifth Ward. In August, twenty-nine pupils were admitted to the high school in full standing, and seven on probation. In November it was resolved to ask the Common Council for permission to build an addition of one room to the Johnson Street Primary, and for the purchase of additional school grounds in the Fifth Ward, and for the erection of a new school building in that ward. Subsequently a committee was authorized to secure the prelimnary plans for a building in the Fifth Ward, which were presented to the board, at their meeting December 26, when the same committee were authorized to secure complete plans and specifications and advertise for bids.

January 1, 1877, the Board of Education met, and G. M. Woodward having been elected a member of the Board at large, in place of Dr. Anderson, but refusing to qualify, D. D. McMillan was elected, taking his place. This being New Year's Day, the board adjourned until the following evening, when G. C. Hixon was elected President of the Board, and the election of Superintendent deferred until January 4, when C. W. Roby was elected as such, at a salary of $800 per year, and a resolution of thanks, acknowledging the services rendered to the educational interests of the city by J. W. Weston, who had been Superintendent of the schools for four successive years.

Subsequently E. F. Fassett was employed as the architect of the Fifth Ward building, and a contract was finally made with Joseph Ross and Messrs. Wallace and Rawlinson, for the erection of the building for $7,785. Lots 10 and 11, in Block 14, in the northern addition to the Fifth Ward, were purchased as a new site, for $375, and the Building Committee was authorized to move the one-story school building onto these lots, to give room for the erection of the new In May, Mr. Swarthout having removed from the city, P. M. Plumb became a member of the board from the Fifth Ward. The contract for the erection of the Johnson Street School

one.

Building was let to Mitchell Bros. for $1,512. Forty-one pupils were admitted to the high school this year unconditionally, and four on probation. H. O. Durkee was employed as Principal of the High School, and at the opening of the schools in September, a four years' course was adopted for the high school, in place of the previous three years' course. At the time the annual estimates were submitted to the Common Council, in November, a request for $7,500 was made, for the purchase of a high school site and sinking fund. In December, a committee was appointed to secure a suitable site in the Fourth Ward for the high school building. At the regular meeting, in January, 1878, Hixon and Roby were re-elected as President and Superintendent, and Robert Morris took his seat as member of the board, succeeding P. M. Plumb. In February, the board decided to purchase Lots 4, 5 and 6, on the northeast corner of Main and Eighth streets, for a high school site, for $6,000. Subsequently, at a special meeting of the board, February 28, four members being present, a request was made to the Common Council for $15,000, for the erection of a high school building. About this time, President G. C. Hixon and P. S. Elwell tendered their resignation as members of the Board of Education, to the Common Council, when D. D. McMillan was elected as President, pro tem. Preliminary plans for the erection of the high school building were made by Mr. Fassett, and $10,000 was appropriated by the Common Council, for the purpose of inclosing it. A resolution was adopted at this time, that all grades in school attaining 100 per cent in attendance, each day, during the week, should be entitled to dismissal one and a quarter hours before the usual time on Friday.

April 4, a committee was authorized to advertise for bids which were received and opened April 22, but were all rejected upon recommendation of the committee, and the architect instructed to modify the plans, so as to materially reduce the expense of constructing the building Having re-advertised and received bids, the contract was awarded to Joseph Ross and David Wallace for $17.688. At the previous meeting of April 22, John Paul took his seat as member of the board from the Fourth Ward. May 9, a resolution was passed asking the Common Council for an additional appropriation of $7,000 for the completion of the high school building. May 20, T. D. Servis became a member of the board from the First Ward, and the full board then being present, D. D. McMillan was duly elected President for the remainder of the year. In June, Henry Marian was elected teacher of German. Forty-seven scholars were admitted to high school this year. The date for the opening of the schools was fixed for September 9, but was subsequently changed to the 16th, as the high school building was not in readiness at that date. Mr. Roby, the Superintendent of the Schools, was directed to act temporarily as Principal of the Second Ward School, as that position was made vacant upon the removal of the high school from that building. October 7, the final settlement was made with the contractors of the high school building, the whole cost of which was $18,239.

At the annual meeting of the board, January 6, 1879, D. D. McMillan was elected President, and C. W. Roby, Superintendent, at a salary of $1,200 per year.

Justus Burnham was elected Principal of the Second Ward School. Forty-three scholars were this year admitted to the high school unconditionally, and two on probation. In July, the State Teachers' Association was held in La Crosse. January 5, 1880, the annual meeting of the Board of Education was held, when the following newly elected members took their seats: W. R. Sill, W. A. Anderson, S. S. Burton, and P. M. Plumb. D. D. McMillan was again elected as President of the Board, and J. J. Fruit was elected as Superintendent. In April, Miss Ella R. Doty was employed as special teacher of vocal music for the balance of the school year, and in June, she was re-employed as teacher of the same for the entire ensuing school year. In July, a committee was authorized to request authority from the Common Council to procure an additional school site in the Third Ward, and this request being granted, the halfblock of land on Eighth street, between Johnson and Adams streets, was purchased for a sum of $2,050, and a contract made with Casper Mueller for the erection of a two-room primary school building for $1,199. This was completed and one room occupied for school purposes in November. Thirty-three pupils were admitted to the high school unconditionally, and sixteen on probation. In July, Prof. Albert Hardy, of Milwaukee, was elected as Principal of the High

School for the ensuing year. At the opening of the schools, September 6, a corps of forty-four eachers was employed, exclusive of the teacher of music and the teacher of penmanship.

The first annual meeting of the Board for 1881 was held January 3, when Fred Tillman took his seat as member of the Board from the city at large, in place of D. D. McMillan, and was elected President of the Board, while Prof. Albert Hardy was elected as Superintendent. January 22, a resolution was adopted by the Board, requesting the Common Council to secure a change in the school law, making the time for the election of the Superintendent in July of each year, instead of in January, and also to change the clause relative to text-books, so they could not be adopted and rejected at will by the board, but, when once adopted, shall not be changed for a period of three years. In April, the Superintendent organized a class for the purpose of instruction in the theory and art of teaching, to be composed of such members of the senior class of the High School as might wish to become members. At this time, notice of the death of Miss E. White, Assistant of the First Ward Grammar School, was received, and suitable resolutions adopted by the Board, this being the second death of a teacher, while acting as such, in the common schools. In May, Mons Anderson took his seat as member of the Board from the Third Ward, Dr. Anderson then representing the Sixth Ward, in accordance with the law subdividing the Third Ward. During this year, the vacant room in the new primary building in the Third Ward was fitted up, in which a school was opened.

The following is a list of the graduates of the High School:

1876-Augustus L. Abbott, Stephen Martindale, Jr., John B. Richards, Jr.

1877-Alice Atkinson, Belle Blanchard, Stella Blanchard, Lulu Farnam, Flora Garrett, Freddie Hughes, Bessie Moss, Mary Sill, Mary Smith, Lizzie Wing, Ferdinand Barta, Louis V. Bennett, Daniel McArthur, William Moss, John Winters, Anna Martindale.

1878

1879-Belle Langdon, Carrie Barrell, Anna Bliss, Nellie Dudley, Emma Anderson, Florence Birney, Jennie Listman, Ella Diehl, William Diehl.

1880 Mrs. Laura Gray.

1881-Hattie E. Batchelder, Minnie L. Doty, Mamie F. Ford, Anna Farnam, Stella H. Rodolf, Stella G. Goodland, Jennie E. Morse, Louis Newman, John Nelson.

KINDERGARTEN SCHOOL.

In October, 1879, Miss Clara Muhlberg opened a Kindergarten School in the Jewish Synagogue with twenty-five scholars. It was held here for a short time only, when it was moved into one of the rooms in the basement of Germania Hall where it has since been taught. At present, the school numbers thirty-five scholars, from four to eight years of age. Miss Muhlberg as a primary teacher has met with eminent success, and in teaching the little ones their A B C's preparatory to their entering the common schools of the city.

LA CROSSE BUSINESS COLLEGE.

Prior to 1868, B. D. Atwell, in company with E. T. Ely, had established what was known as "The Model Business College of the Northwest," at Sparta, but finding that La Crosse was making rapid strides in the direction of becoming the metropolis of the western portion of the State, they determined to remove their college to La Crosse; consequently, in 1868, what is now known as the "La Crosse Business College" was established in this city. Being an entirely new enterprise in the way of schools, its patronage came slowly at first, but soon, having manifested its worth, the young men and women of the city and adjacent country came in such numbers that more roomy quarters had to be provided. Once on a solid foundation, the number of its students increased to such large proportions, that once more larger rooms became a necessity. By this time, the system of instruction employed at the college had been systematized, and Mr. Atwell decided to exhibit his method and appliances to the people of the State at the State Fair. Accordingly he appeared at the exhibition of the State Agricultural Society